EDUCATION minister Leighton Andrews yesterday attacked councils and directors of education for ‘variable’ standards of attendance and behaviour of pupils in schools.

The minister also bluntly defended his proposals for fixed penalty notices for parents who persistently failed to send their children to school

Mr Andrews, giving evidence to an Assembly inquiry, displayed his irritation with local officials in meeting Welsh Government targets.

Asked by children’s committee chair Christine Chapman if the Welsh Government placed enough emphasis on early intervention, he said: “I think the approach we take does, whether that’s followed through at local authority level is another matter.”

Mr Andrews highlighted good practice in Ceredigion, and in Denbighshire where there was agreement between schools over a ‘tariff of penalties’ for bad behaviour . But he added: “Some of the evidence demonstrates it’s variable around Wales.”

The Welsh Government had announced £800,000 extra funding for education consortia to encourage them to bring proposals forward for significant improvement, he said.

“I also don’t think, bluntly, we can have 22 different approaches in this area. There either is good practice or there isn’t and we need to learn from it.

“I’d like to know what directors of education are doing to learn about that good practice and use it, it’s their responsibility.

“We are clear about what works at a national level.

“What I’m not clear about is why it is that local authorities have been unable to learn from the best practice that is already out there.

“It seems to be an extraordinary deficiency. This is their responsibility It is the responsibility of director of education, director of children’s services to get this right and the evidence that comes to us is that they have not.”

Chair Christine Chapman said: “Most of the evidence we have taken, minister, suggests that prosecuting parents and your proposals to introduce fixed penalty notices would only work in a small number of cases.”

Mr Andrews added: “I dispute the idea that most of your evidence suggests that, I think most of the assertions about it say that. Whether that qualifies as evidence is entirely another matter.”

Including attendance in drawing up bandings of secondary schools in Wales had made a ‘significant difference’ to the way it had been addressed, he said.

Consortia would have to submit proposals to attract funding including outcome targets about what they were going to achieve, say, in reducing persistent absence, said Kara Richards, senior implementation officer, behaviour and attendance in the Welsh Government.

“If we are not happy with the extent of challenge we will go back to them and say we want more,” she said.

Cardiff Central AM Jenny Rathbone said Estyn highlighted a ‘zero tolerance’ first day approach to absence was effective particularly with families with a history of poor attendance. “Why isn’t that operated across all schools?” she asked.

Mr Andrews said: “That is a very good question for the Association of Directors of Education in Wales. It’s down to directors of education it seems to me to carry out their responsibilities.”